


Little Bit of Time Travel

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: Little Bit Stories [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Background Relationships, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 12:50:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13031484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: Kemir'tra Tano, 2 years after Malachor took her mother, and not long before Scarif would have happened, gets knocked back to the early part of the second year of the Clone War. She is her parents' child, and will do all she can to wreck the Sith.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested in the comments of on one of Little Bit's stories by Elementalmaster0506, and the muse bit hard. They may have intended for me to use Little Bit when she's tiny, but it went in this direction.

Kemir'tra Tano, once called Little Bit, and most known as Atin, wanted to lose every meal she had had for a week as the Force did strange and unusual things to her, leaving her on hands and knees in a too vulnerable state. At least her hood was in place, and she struggled against the nausea to keep it from ruining her scarves that hid her markings. 

She was so going to knock Wes's head in for making her lunge at the suddenly dangerous Force artifact. It had done this to her. Stupid pilots. Always investigating with their hands!

"I'm gonna kill him," she finally managed to say, her breathing falling into training exercises from both her parents. "I'm gonna break his hands and kill him slowly," she added, slowly pushing up to her knees even as her spine prickled from what her montrals were telling her.

There was someone near, moving with the careful step of someone on alert.

Worse, this was not the stone-encased room she had been in, but somewhere open and wet with a temperate climate… with someone nearby.

Bravo (one of three in the 327th, out of three different waves off Kamino, and they were still arguing about differentiation) had heard something hit the ground a few meters past the perimeter he was guarding, so he'd called for Swipe to come take his spot on guard and headed towards the noise. His audio pickups carried the sound of a female-register voice to him, muttering threats of violence, and he said drily, "Hope you're not meaning one of those threats for one of us." 

Atin tensed, but that was a vod's voice. She knew it as well as she knew her mother's voice, having known one for a father and the rest of the saved ones on Dorin II as uncles.

"I'd never bring harm to a vod," she said clearly, keeping her motion slow, knowing her accent rang with the cadence of their language, and its inflections. "Turning around now, to see who I've met."

Bravo frowned at hearing their inflections on a female voice, at their name for each other from someone that blatantly wasn't one of them, and he waited, deece against his thigh rather than aimed, as she turned around. 

The shape of the head under the hood said horns or montrals or headcrest of some kind, so definitely not human, and when she turned, he blinked at the sight of lekku wrapped in something that looked light but very, very opaque... that couldn't possibly be comfortable. "Bravo, Lightning Squadron of the 327th," he said, introducing himself since she'd pretty much asked. 

327th? Lightning Squadron? A vod in actual regulation plastoid, complete with paint?

What in hell was this? A Force vision? She didn't usually do those, and was thankful for the fact, given how badly they tore her mother apart sometimes. But no, the Force was thrumming loudly with active users and one of those was very nearby.

"General Secura's battalion, yes?" she asked. "I'm called 'Atin'," she added. It fit her, so fully, as the child of her parents to be called stubborn.

"Yes we are," Bravo agreed instantly, proud beyond words of their General. The tone of her voice on the word was enough to tell him she did mean it in Mando'a, and he laughed for a moment. "Stubborn, is it? Well, then. The kriff are you doing this close to a hot zone, Atin?" 

"Well, that's a long story best saved for your jetii, I think, Bravo," she said. "Given that the Force is part of why I seem to be here. No, not a Jedi, but my lightsaber's in my boot, and I serve the Light."

She had never been comfortable carrying it on her belt, even under the cloaks she wore. In her boot, it escaped a lot of pat-downs, and was a good backup just-in-case weapon. She preferred her blasters in a fight, or the explosives Gregor had taught her over the years. The lightsaber was small, crafted closer to what her mother had said were the training lightsabers in size, though it was fully as lethal as her mother's were.

Bravo wasn't certain about _that_ idea, but he also wasn't stupid enough to get in the way of jetii business, either. "...all right, then. You don't match anyone we have intel on, so. If you're a Force user, you won't need me to lead you to the General. I'll come along behind." 

"Alright, vod," Atin said with a smile behind her scarf, turning unerringly in the direction of the camp. Bravo knew their course was heading to medical, not command, but that would be where the General was at this time, finishing up with saving his brothers… or helping them march far away without pain.

Atin didn't want to show her face just yet. Her white marks were similar to her mother's, and while she didn't have the chevrons of her mother as a girl, she did have the exact same shade of blue and white on both lekku and montrals. If she was in a camp of the 327th, she was during the era of the war, and that meant her mother was either commanding in the 501st… or on the run. The answer to that would tell Atin when she was.

* * *

Aaylas'ecura felt a strange Force presence coming towards her, unfamiliar but strong, and sank herself deeper into finishing the healing the _vod_ she had her hands on. She finished and called out to her medic that she had to step out, and headed out of the tent, not stopping to more than clean her hands with a disinfectant cloth. 

She blinked as she saw Bravo coming in behind a stranger in a dark hooded cloak, with wrappings all around short lekku, absolutely baffled. That didn't feel like Ahsoka, but the form was almost the right height and shape to be -- 

Atin had to make herself keep to a meditative breathing pattern, or she was going to go karking out of her mind. That was exactly as Deke had described his general to her, down to the pattern of the lekku. Unless this was the most immersive Vision she had ever heard of, that thing had thrown her back well before her birth, and … she knew things. Things that could change life for all of her uncles and their Jedi.

It wasn't that she cared so much about the Jedi as a whole; her father had told her the story of why her mother refused to bear the title. She did, however, feel pain for every rescued vod who had lost that focal point in their life, and the way they all reflected the loss.

"Master Jedi," she said neutrally, remembering that was the common greeting, outside the vod'e, for a Jedi of any rank. Her mother had taught her that, when explaining what life had been like before the war.

That wasn't Ahsoka's voice, at least. Not entirely. Aayla relaxed, just slightly, at the greeting, and answered, "Greetings, stranger, and you are welcome to my camp if you mean no harm." 

"No harm intended but to the Sith, Master Jedi. I am called Atin, but if we may speak quietly, I will tell you my name." Atin pulled her scarf down from her mouth and the wings on her cheeks were more visible to quick Jedi eyes.

Aayla stared, shocked, for a moment -- it might not mean anything, Togruta were a very varied species, but the Force whispered 'yes' and 'trust her' to her -- then nodded. "All right; this way. We can speak in my tent." 

Atin followed, then swept her hood back was they were private. Her montrals would never be as tall as her mother's but her markings ran very close. Her skin was darker, more bronze, and she had her father's eyes, but she knew she resembled her mother strongly.

"I am Kemir'tra Tano, and this is not my time. But, I serve the Force, as my mother before me, and the Republic, the vod'e, even your Order, are all in grave danger."

"Tano... Ahsoka's _daughter_?" Aayla had to admit, this was nothing she had ever even heard of in legends, but the Force still hummed with truth. She let herself sink into it, hearing him "You mean danger more than the Separatists, I take it." 

"They are a tool of the Sith." Atin took a deep breath. "Is my mother still a Jedi? That will tell me how much time we have to break the Emperor's… no, not yet. The Chancellor's hold." She was as blunt as her father, but held off the profanity. Her parents had both respected this woman.

"What? Of course she is!" Aayla answered, staring at the young woman across from her, shaking her head a little. "Ahsoka is a wonderful padawan, Skywalker is lucky to have her, and I cannot imagine her choosing to walk away, not like some..." 

'The Emperor... no, not yet. The Chancellor' -- those words had sent terrified chills down her back, and for a few moments her heart pounded with fear. 

"Less choice and more her only option to try and be true to the Force," Atin said. "If she is still at his side, we have time. I will do all I can to save _ner aliit_ , Master Secura." She used the Mando'a words to reinforce her cultural heritage. "Yes, my mother told me of you, as has Deke.

"It would be best if I can find cosmetics to change my marks though. I refuse to let that filth know the Force is working against him."

Aayla hissed softly at the comment about 'less choice' and closed her jaw tightly on it but the rest convinced her to nod, to accept the baffling implausible being in front of her. "It shouldn't be that hard to find something -- you're darker than the vod'e, but with how they love to play with paints, they'll mix something on my asking it. ...Deke? My Deke?" 

Why was he the one that had been speaking of her, what had happened -- did she actually want to know? Rather or not she wanted to, she rather thought she had to. "And... 'that filth'? Also, you said 'Emperor'?" 

"Deke is one of my uncles. And yes. He plans to use the men against those they love through a hidden trap," Atin told her. "But Deke was on a med sat, one my parents liberated early on. He is one of our best slicers." Her voice held so much pride and love for her family.

Aayla sat down on the table closest to her before she could lose her balance from the sheer weight of her horror, her lekku twisting up and back to curl protectively around her throat at the simple affirmative from this young woman that meant _everything_ she had done in this war, every _vod_ she had lost, every sentient she had killed, all of it was for nothing but the amusement of a Sith hidden in the very heart of the Republic, rotting it from the inside out. Destroying them from within as it got harder and harder to keep sight of anything good except the men around her, men she loved and failed and lost too often.

Like her uncle, pulling strings and destroying, all over again -- 

"I'm sorry. Mom says I'm as diplomatic as a rancor," Atin said, moving close to rest a hand on her shoulder, mindful of the coiled lekku. "We can save them...Aunt?" She offered the family tie a bit hesitantly.

Aayla jerked herself out of the spiral of her own mind at the shock of touch, her eyes focusing on the girl in front of her instead of the damage in her own mind, leftovers even Master Plo couldn't heal. At least she hadn't jerked away from the touch. "I -- I'm sorry, what did you say? I... lost myself, for a moment." 

"It's okay. All I said has to be horrible to hear," Atin said. "Uncle Wolffe is already safe. Dad's not. I only know how to make one or two safe at a time, and Dad said the flash training still causes problems at first. Trained loyalty." She let her lekku show her disgust at that.

Aayla knew she'd missed something important, and she tried to call the words she'd missed out of her subconscious -- it was generally paying attention even when she wasn't -- while she actually did listen to the current discussion. "It was," she agreed softly, "and... I don't understand why Commander Wolffe would be unaffected while the others are vulnerable -- but I do know that their flash training is... well. As you said." 

Where 'said' was 'gestured', but they both knew what she meant. 

Finally, the missing part came to her, and she reached up to curl her fingers lightly around Kemir'tra's hand. "I... never expected a niece. And I don't think I have to ask to know which vod is your father, but... Captain Rex?" 

Atin beamed. "He is. I'm surprised you know; according to him, he had no clue until it was just him and mom. Something about mom's girlfriends being a great smokescreen." Atin then addressed the rest. "Uncle Wolffe was injured right where the chip sits by my spirit-mother… no no no! I swear I can get her out of the fight! Maybe even save her people if it's early enough.

"I know she did really evil things but she has protected dad and I, and taught mom, a lot!"

She knew from her father that she would have to be careful, that Asajj Ventress was a death machine with dual lightsabers and the ability to Force-choke and Command. That last wouldn't have much effect on Atin, and Asajj herself had taught her to defend against the Choke, but she was not as strong in lightsaber defense as her mother.

Then again, Atin didn't think anyone could use lightsabers the way her mother had.

"...forgive me," Aayla said slowly, "if I have a hard time believing that. Given that you have to mean Asajj Ventress. And as to Captain Rex... there's a connection between the two of them that's, mmm, rather familiar to me." 

"I get it, Master Secura," Atin said, but her jaw firmed. "Ventress saved my mother, though, and mom did everything she could to pay that back. It's only fair, if I'm going to tear time apart, that I try and fix things for her. That it will take her away from hurting my uncles is even more reason to do so." She then let it go, and thought about her father, and her family, letting her lekku ripple in faint amusement. "I was supposed to be impossible. But Mom excelled in impossible, and when I happened, she figured out a way to balance it.

"Now, I guess I know why the Force wanted me. So I could be the messenger."

"Getting Ventress out of the picture would be a great blessing," Aayla admitted, and nodded at the obvious, blatant protectiveness this young Tano obviously had for the vod'e she named her uncles -- which were, unsurprisingly, any of them alive when she was. "Your mother is, in fact, quite good at the impossible, I agree. 

"And... so it seems, though I doubt that was the only reason."

Atin shrugged. "So, makeup for me to disguise my marks, and then what? How do you want to tackle this? I'm just a sergeant in my own militia; I don't call the shots." Her eyes and lekku belied that; she had amended battle plans almost since she officially joined a cell when she was fifteen, and her cell leader just went with it.

"Would you have any objections to my asking Master Kit Fisto to join us?" Aayla asked. "Of the Masters of the Council, he is most free to move, and very capable in the political arena this is going to require." 

Atin's lekku both flexed with emotion, but it was gone swiftly, and she nodded. "Mom would be wary of the Council… but she also taught me to judge people on their own merits. And I did like Elder Fisto, the one time I got to meet him, even if he's almost as grumpy as Uncle Wolffe."

"You've met Kit's uncle?" Aayla asked, surprised but smiling at the thought and the comparison alike. "I'm glad to know that, at least. ...your mother being wary of the Council is another thing that worries me very much, Atin, but I suspect you will wind up telling us why somewhere in all of what we must do." 

"I will. Because… even though she was always quick to affirm she was no Jedi, there were times when I could see it still hurt, what happened. And I can't let that happen to the person she is here and now," Atin said solemnly. "And yes. Elder Fisto was kind enough to keep me while my parents handled a bad situation for the Alliance, since it helped his group too," she added.

Ahsoka, not a Jedi. That thought was **not** acceptable, in the slightest, and Aayla determined that there was no way it was happening as long as she was alive. It was also almost impossible to believe, given all the stories she had heard of Ahsoka from Shaak by this point. And from Master Plo, too, when she was recovering. "All right. I'll send that comm, then." 

"Thank you." Atin finally let herself sit, dropping on the floor with no more mind to rough conditions than a soldier. She fished out a piece of a trail bar; she would always be thankful she had inherited the human digestive needs for the more varied diet. "I'll wait to tell more until you have an answer."

Aayla looked at her sprawl and the ration bar she was chewing on, saw what looked like berries and grain in the pressed mix, and blinked. "...you didn't get our mother's dietary restrictions?" 

"No, thank the Force! I don't know how she deals...dealt with that." Atin's voice faltered slightly. She couldn't understand how her mother had vanished beyond hers or Asajj's ability to find her.

"Dealt?" Aayla asked, her heart stopping for a moment, "oh, no.... Atin, I -- " 

Atin shook her head. "Missing. Two years now. Not dead, but that's almost worse. I fully joined the Rebellion that year. Dad changed which cell he worked with.

"Hard to hope, though, with what happened to those who survived with the Force." She laughed then. "He tried to pull the age thing about me being fifteen. Pointed out she'd been fourteen and he'd been ten."

"That falls under those things that we're waiting to talk about until Kit gets here, doesn't it?" Aayla asked, before chuckling at the last bit. "Well I suppose you rather won that argument. Speaking of Kit, my wrist unit won't raise his ship; I'll be back shortly." 

Atin nodded, waiting until the woman left her there alone. Then, nibbling on the trail bar, she pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on them. This… was so much more than anything she had ever trained for. The Force pressed in, old friend and troublemaker alike for her, and she made herself push the fear, the uncertainty, and the loneliness away.

"Just let this mean I erase things in my own time," she whispered, not wanting her father to suffer knowing she was as lost as her mother. Somehow, she felt that was the truth, as if the Force were offering her that much reassurance.


	2. Chapter Two

Kit waved his hands to the younglings, shooing them on their way as his comm vibrated with an incoming message. He was supposed to be at the Senate later in the day, currently on Coruscant instead of in the field, and had taken the time to visit with a class of their youngest students.

"Master Fisto here," he answered as he walked away from the study room.

"It's me," Aayla's voice answered him, "I have a source of intelligence that needs to talk to you, as soon as possible." 

"Oh? Well, I think you have saved me from boredom by politician then," Kit said, smiling despite himself just to hear her voice. "I can get Arsix to start my ship, and tender my regrets to the Senate within the hour. Have you relocated since day before yesterday?"

"No, we're still entrenched," Aayla answered, "and I'm delighted to save you from such boredom. You certainly won't be bored here! We'll see you when you arrive, my friend." 

"Until then, my friend," Kit answered, his voice warm and gentle on the noun. He clicked off, then set things in motion to go join her and her forces. She would never have asked without it being of high importance.

* * *

Of course they had come under fire not an hour after the comm to Kit. Aayla deployed her people quickly to defend the camp, especially medical, and saw Atin move swiftly to help, twin blasters in hand as she provided cover fire for those who were moving.

She had her father's ability on that level, in the moments Aayla saw her, and left her to the battle to better protect her men from the front.

When the fight ended, Atin had already adjourned to medical, and was deep in the Force, helping a vod that had taken shrapnel to the abdomen and torso. Without Jedi aid, he'd likely have died, but Aayla could see her new aide holding the man to life while they got the shrapnel free.

After the grueling time in medical, Aayla had a chance to check on the girl again, to find her back in the original tent, curled on her side on the floor to sleep it off. That … was very like Ahsoka, and Aayla backed out to find Bly, so he was warned they had Master Fisto incoming.

"General," Bly said as they met, "you didn't tell me we had backup arriving." 

"Ahh… yes. She was a bit of a surprise, from another faction." Aayla gave him a smile, even as she felt the weight of Kemir'tra's words about the men, about the Chancellor, and all the implications on her shoulders. "She'll be staying with us for now.

"However, I came to inform you that we would be expecting another Jedi soon. Master Fisto was on Coruscant, and will be coming to be briefed by our guest."

Bly was not buying the calm tone of his _jetii_ 's 'yes', but he suspected that was as much as he was going to be told for a while, so he just nodded. That aim (a lot like an officer's, really) and the robes hiding almost everything... had a number of his brothers paying _quite_ a bit of attention to the stranger -- which was going to be its own bit of interesting. "As you say, sir. It'll be good to see General Fisto when he arrives. Sir? How off-limits is the stranger? Before one of the boys gets in over his head." 

Aayla smirked. "I'll warn her they might be interested, but I have a feeling she is more than capable of fending for herself in that regard. Best to call her 'Atin', if you need to get her attention," she said. "I'm going to need Jaspar's help as well. If he can bring his pigments by? Not right now, but before meal."

"I'll let him know, yes sir," Bly agreed, confusion joining his mild entertainment at the commentary about the stranger, 'Atin', being able to take care of herself. Well, a gender was a good addition to his information, as was the name. "Is it just a lucky coincidence that means 'stubborn', or was that on purpose?" 

"From what I've seen so far, I'd say it was as aptly placed a name as Lucky's," Aayla told her commander, lekku flicking with amusement. Lucky, one of their second wave of recruits, had such serendipity that other vod'e touched him before every battle in hopes of it rubbing off.

Bly made an amused noise and nodded. "All right then, sir. Should I get another tent set up beside yours for her?" 

Aayla considered, then nodded. "Please." She'd rather just share a different tent altogether, but that certainly wasn't appropriate during an investment campaign. "Thank you, Commander," she added, before waiting to see if he had anything for her before she moved on to check on the men.

"Of course, sir," Bly replied, "believe we've finally got everything back to rights, much as it can be. Anything else you need from me, sir?" 

"Just… keep everyone as safe as we can," she said, fighting down the panic at the back of her mind, the claws around her throat. "And get some rest."

"Yes sir," Bly answered, snapped her a crisp salute, and stepped back to go and deal with her requests. That he would rather be able to retreat to her tent with her, and reassure himself that she truly wasn't injured, didn't matter or need to be said. 

She shared the sentiment, but they had duty.

* * *

Atin stretched, having met Jaspar briefly after waking, and worked out a pigment that blended smoothly into her skin, masking parts of her markings. It would last a long while; he made them for brothers who needed to not see their own faces for a while, after losing batchmates.

With the familiar marks redefined as something different, she felt braver about walking around bare-faced, though she refused to remove the simple headdress that held three polished akul teeth, all she had kept from her adult-kill. One tooth was for her, another for her mother, and the last for her father.

She could feel the press of another strong Force user; it was so odd to not be readying for a fight to the death at that recognition. However, this one, like Secura, was vibrant with the Light, nothing like an Inquisitor, or even the vast majority of the Night Witches. She stepped out of the tent to go toward the newcomer… and realized Secura was headed that way too. She moved more slowly than usual to allow the Jedi to speak.

"Hello, Arsix," Aayla called up to the astromech still sitting in the socket of Kit's fighter, before she smiled at Kit, restraining herself with the ease of practice from greeting him as warmly as she truly wished to, "and to you too, my friend. Welcome. 

"And our guest is coming to meet you, I see." 

"I must admit to being quite curious," Kit said as he dropped off the wing of his low-slung fighter. He allowed himself the vod'e greeting, resting his hand on Aayla's shoulder just a moment. He then turned his attention to the … wild? definitely not known Force signature he could feel, muted and clouded over with techniques he did know. "I am glad to see you, my friend," he told Aayla before dropping the arm and facing the oncoming… Togruta? Something seemed off, but definitely Togruta-based.

Atin came to a stop at what she considered a polite distance and gave a short nod of her head to both Force users. "Masters Jedi," she said. 

"Atin," Aayla said, "good morning. Master Fisto, this is Atin... and we should definitely adjourn to the tent we put up for you, Atin, before we discuss anything." 

Atin nodded then turned on her heel to go back that way, leaving Kit even more curious than before. He walked alongside Aayla, resisting the urge to probe too closely at those shields. He contented himself with his sense of smell. That painted the picture of a warrior though the whiff of vod'e make-up made him wonder. Why would a Togruta wear their contouring blends?

Soon enough, they were in the tent, the opening sealed, as Atin dropped cross-legged on the floor, leaving the camp stool and cot to them for sitting. 

"Master Fisto," Atin said. "I know better than to lie to a Nautolan… which still confuses me given the liar at the center of all of this… so I'll start with my name. I am Kemir'tra Tano, from about eighteen, maybe eighteen and half years to the future. I prefer Atin, though, and I really want to derail that Sith's plans for all of you."

Kit blinked several times, his head turning to look at Aayla -- who looked completely accepting of this impossible thing -- and breathed a few times. She smelled as though there was no falsehood in her, and the Force hummed around them, something agreeing and encouraging in it. "...Tano?" he asked, "as in our Ahsoka?" 

There was something about that first name that was trying to register to him, but his Mando'a was barely more than functional. 

Atin smiled, a less exuberant expression than a similar set of features might make in Kit's memory, but one full of affection and pride. "At this time, yes, she is. Not for much longer, because… and forgive me, but these are my parents' words, the High Council are idiots with her. Though… I am hoping to avert the whole thing, so perhaps in this life, my mother might be a Jedi yet."

"We'll need details," Aayla said, even as she kept an eye on Kit, to see how he took that blunt criticism of the Council.

Kit frowned, his tentacles flexing forward and back, "I know Saesee is sometimes frustrated with her, but there are three of us who know Ahsoka well, and it more than a little worries me that something could have happened to separate her from us. She is an excellent young Jedi. So. Let us hope you are right, and whatever it is can be stopped. 

"You... know who the Master Sith is, from what you said about derailing plans. Who?" 

"You call him 'Chancellor', but I grew up knowing him as the Emperor," Atin said evenly, just as blunt as she had been to Aayla. She would give these people a chance to prove themselves or fail… as they had failed her mother… based on here/now, not the stories she had grown up on.

"Breathe," Aayla said to her very startled, quickly turning to terrified, friend, not liking the color Kit had become.

Kit did suck in a breath, but the simple words had rung with truth in the Force and that -- that was -- 

But he'd been in the Chancellor's presence a thousand times and never sensed anything, the Chancellor was so integral to the war effort, the entire Council was more often than not willing to follow his sway -- 

"I -- that -- " 

"It gets worse, my friend," Aayla said gently. "And I don't even know all of it yet. Because there is a trap set for our men, within them… that he will use against the Order."

"He is the only one who can, so if you acquire the chip and break its coding? That's one piece of proof," Atin said. "Master Fisto, my apologies. As I told Master Secura, mom said I'm as diplomatic as a rancor."

//She had any room to talk?// Kit thought, but managed not to actually say it. "There... is a place," Kit said, "for bluntness, but... that was... a bit much. I'm grateful it was me and not some other members of the Council, though. They might have reacted... worse. 

"I'm sorry.... 'chip'?" 

"About here," Atin said, touching where her father's scar had been, "inside the skull, but not too deep, is a bio-chip implant in every single one of my uncles. From how Bandage described it, it's wired directly into the part of the brain that controls actions, bypassing both logic and emotion, so that the orders must be carried out.

"Mom told me it was like the men just vanished, replaced by blank slates, all hostile to her and immune to Force suggestions at first. Over time, she was able to overcome that, when she was breaking my uncles free of the Empire," Atin explained. "It has safeguards; medics cannot see it at first and then will say it is the inhibitor to control their aggression. No vod can submit to having it removed of their own free will without great effort. My father had to stew on the idea for a few months to get to the point he could."

Kit's tentacles flexed as it locked on the concept that the young woman was the child of one of the men… and discarded that swiftly as he realized it could be by adoption. Still, there were futures he sometimes dreamed of involving the children of one vod in particular. If Bly and Aayla decided to keep him, that was, past the end of the war.

It was easier than coping with all of the horror that had his bio-markers significantly raised, enough that he felt the nudge of two separate mental links trying to be certain he was alright. That was enough to calm himself; he could not add any stress to his padawan's life, even though she was a Knight all on her own and had been for some time. He sent an inkling of apology to both Bant and his master, Areen, for disturbing them and refocused.

"How do we get around the chip?" he made himself ask more calmly.

"I only know how to do it with a droid popper, or surgery. My parents made sure I knew the first in case of another abduction attempt," Atin said. "The second I learned when we found a man that the Empire had abandoned three years ago. Mother felt I should know… just in case."

A little of her frustration showed. That last year with her mother had had a lot of 'just in case' training. She had been left wondering, in the years since, if her mother had known she would be lost.

Kit hissed a quiet noise, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "We're going to have to do surgery on someone, then, to get an intact one to be studied. As I assume the droid popper -- which, how does one of those affect them, they use them often enough I would think the trouble would be at an end by now? -- destroys the despicable object." 

"The popper has to be recalibrated," Atin told him. "And it causes a brief stinging pain as it fries the chip."

"Something like that inside the brain tissue may cause pain no matter what we do, even if the brain itself supposedly feels no pain," Aayla said. "But yes, surgery to acquire a chip. Maybe more than one. So we may begin cracking its secrets."

"I just want my uncles safe!" Atin said with deep fervor.

"We are going to make that happen," Kit said firmly, looking at the young woman and agreeing entirely with her. "Nothing else is even _vaguely_ acceptable." 

And then he was going to have a long, _long_ talk with several people about how in the names of the tides they were going to save themselves from a Sith in the seat of the Republic's power. 

"I can keep it from scarring," Atin volunteered. "Not quite as good as Mom at healing, but I can do it."

"I'm sure Kit or I can as well. I am glad to learn your mother figured that out, eventually," Aayla said.

"She learned a different way, from other teachers," Atin said, deciding to dodge the Ventress landmine this time.

"I'm very curious about a different method of healing," Kit said, "though it's far from my strong suit. Perhaps when we get to that point you will show us? So... who are we co-opting into medical, Aayla? As we're rather in the middle of your unit."

"Bly. And Fracture. Two chips makes more sense, if we can decide on two separate Sentinels to involve in solving it," she told him with no hesitation. "Having my medic and Commander clear is a start to finding a way out of this trap."

Atin remembered Deke talking about his commander and general. She solemnly nodded, as Aayla was more at risk than some Jedi, because of that close connection.

"Of course," Kit agreed, "and you're right, that does make the best sense. ...Bultar, for one of the Sentinels." 

It wasn't because she was his sort-of niece and sort-of sibling alike, but that certainly didn't hurt. Neither did how close she was to her own Commander. 

"Swan?" Atin asked. "One of momma's Jedi family," she said, placing the name. "One she never got angry at. Like you, Master Secura."

"I think I appreciate being on that side of the list," Aayla said, giving Kit a wry smile for the fact he was lumped on the other side as a Council Member.

"That was who I meant, yes," Kit agreed, wishing devoutly that he had a better idea of what stupid thing the Council had done so that he could do a better job of stopping it, whatever it was. "What else do we need to know before we start dealing with this, Atin?" 

"Might be a good idea to find out if my _buir'e_ were right and Grandpa Buckethead really was manipulated by the Sith," Atin said evenly. "Given that he was at the fight my mom disappeared at, I have a harder time believing that."

"While that name is… interesting, can you tell us who you mean?" Aayla asked, afraid she knew the answer.

"Mother's teacher, the man I am named for," Atin told her, eyes hard. "Anakin Skywalker."

" _Skywalker_?" Kit said, shocked almost past breathing again, as cold crept along his nerves. Skywalker was troubled, yes, and Mace was perpetually difficult about him, but Skywalker loved the men fiercely, was devoted to them... 

And with his past, something like this should have -- 

"Oh, tides, no," he breathed, "oh, no." He remembered just who was close to Skywalker.

Aayla refused to believe it could be anything but manipulation… and the idea of Skywalker in the same position she had been was horrifying to her. "That's for Master Plo," she said firmly. "And quickly. We can offer him the riddle of the chips to save him from the rage it will bring if that man has been shaping him this whole time!"

Atin watched their reactions, and decided maybe her parents were right about the man they had named her for. Maybe he was as good as those early stories, and not the murderous sociopath she had known to wipe out entire Rebel cells. Maybe, in his right mind, he'd never hurt her mother.

Kit moved to press his leg against Aayla's, well aware of what she had to be thinking -- and why she'd determined that Master Plo had to be told. He also happened to entirely agree with her. Plo was one of the only people that would have any chance of getting through to Skywalker past the damage that had to have already been done. "You're right, Aayla. Bly and Fracture first, then I'll talk to Master Plo and ask him to get Bultar headed to us here, as well as inform him about Skywalker."

"I'll need to do one more scouting, to be certain we have the planetary situation good," Aayla said, standing up. "As I'd rather such surgery be done aboard our ship." She rested her hand on Kit's shoulder briefly. "Will you see to beginning evac for me, Master Fisto? I'll acquire my Commander and verify scout reports."

"Of course, Aayla," Kit agreed, and stood to head for the command tent to begin those preparations on Aayla's word.

* * *

Bly looked a little green as he came back up from the sleep command and anesthesia, before his hand went to his head, finding that it had been shaved.

"Your hair will grow back, Commander," Aayla said. "How do you feel?"

"Confused?"

"I will brief you on everything in a few minutes, privately," she told him. "Fracture?"

Across from Bly, the medic pushed up on his elbows. "Like the Commander, confused."

They both took note of the young stranger, the young Togruta, leaning against the wall. She gave both men a smile. 

"I had intel that your general just confirmed, men. At some point in the creation process, one of the Sith managed to convince a longneck to slip a trap into place. Medic Fracture, it was disguised as your aggression inhibitor chip."

Aayla rested a hand on both of her men, Fracture's arm and Bly's shoulder. "You two are the only vod'e currently aware of the issue, and it must stay that way. There will be no scar, and you will find that several squads received the order to shave their heads to be certain we had not picked up a case of parasites down there.

"Hair grows back quickly, and it was the easiest way to disguise what we had done."

"Of course, sir," Fracture said, digesting all of that with difficulty. "Now, sir?"

Aayla gave him a smile. "Pull the records on all of the men who had head injuries, and study them. Push comes to shove, you will perform surgery on them all. However, for now, we are going to get the sneakier Jedi to study one of the chips, and try to find the shut off switch."

"Yes,sir," Fracture replied, before testing his balance and rising to go get to work. He knew his Commander was very unhappy with all of the revelations and wanted to give him a chance to get that full briefing.

"I'll go work on that full-size lightsaber you suggested I make, General Secura," Atin said, turning to leave as well.

"Commander, if you will join me and Master Fisto? There is more you should know, to help us protect your brothers," Aayla said with crisp professionalism, hiding all of her wish and need to be holding him.

"Of course," Bly agreed, rolling to his feet smoothly so that they could retreat -- he could see in the set of her shoulders and the tension in her lekku that whatever the rest of this was, it was going to be bad. 

She led him to quarters, where Kit was just getting out of the immersion tube they had rigged for him there, and immediately pushed into Bly's arms as the door shut, holding him close. Kit joined them, nothing more than his trunks on and skin still damp, pressing along Bly's back.

"All done?"

"Both chips removed, safe in my belt pouch for now," Aayla answered that, but she kept her forehead pressed against Bly's throat.

Bly reached back to hold on to Kit's hip, his other arm wrapping tight around his General, a low hum in his throat as they both caught so tightly onto him -- yes, definitely very bad, whatever this was. "Shh, sirs, shh, I'm right here, I've got you. Let me get out of all this, and we can squeeze into the berth without my armor biting you both, huh?" 

"That is a good plan… Kit, go dry off! I am not having you drip on my sheets!"

Kit laughed; he knew she'd done that on purpose to ease tensions, but he should pat the rest of the water off his skin while Bly stripped down. He eased off the wet trunks while he was at it, and wrapped a towel around his hips for modesty sake while they dried.

Soon enough, the three were in the berth, Aayla tucked along Bly's left, and Kit resting on his right.

Bly had his arms around their backs, behind their shoulders -- careful of tentacles and lekku alike -- as they settled into place, his hands spread on each back. He shifted his left knee and foot, hooking them over Aayla's leg to hold her a little closer yet. Kit had sprawled over his right leg already, pinning it flat to the bed, and he said softly, "I'm here, loves... what's so wrong?" 

"Everything," Kit said firmly.

"He's not wrong, our dearest," Aayla told him. "That chip was designed to steal you away from yourself, make you obedient to orders that… that would have turned you against the Jedi. Even me."

"What?" Bly asked, aghast, and his holds on them both tightened as he shook his head. There was nothing that could convince him to harm his General, she was -- she was everything that mattered to him outside of his men, she was their shield and shelter and his hope. There was no way he would hurt her, not if he had even a trace of his own will. "No." 

"Shh, shh," she soothed. "Can't happen with you now," she said fervently. "And Kit has a plan to make certain all of your brothers are saved. He knows who to take the two chips to, so they can be investigated and nullified."

Kit's weight shifted a little, giving Bly just a little more comfort of being held tight by them both. "My dear Bly, I have all the faith in the world in both Knight Swan's skills and Knight Skywalker's stubborn tenacity; once set on it, they will beat it."

"I haven't met General Swan," Bly said, "but you vouch for her... and I _know_ this is going to send General Skywalker right off the rails. Rex's going to want to kill you because Skywalker won't sleep for the next week -- or two -- but he'll figure it out." 

That drove Aayla to a laugh and Kit snorted before Kit sighed. "Once they beat it, Bly, we may be able to end this sooner rather than later. We have solid leads on who is pulling strings."

"Truly?" Bly asked, because he knew better than to ask for more details when his _jetiise_ were being even that cagey. If they hadn't told him who outright, they weren't going to and there was likely a good reason. But even just that was enough to give him more hope, more reason to believe that there might be an end to this before all of his brothers were dead. 

"Yes, my love," Aayla told him before kissing his cheek lightly. "We're going to fix this."

Kit made an agreeing noise, before just settling in to cuddle for a bit until Bultar Swan or Plo Koon contacted him in answer to his earlier communications.


	3. Chapter Three

"Master Koon is being cautious, despite us finding the chip," Kit said, looking from Aayla to Atin. "He wants us to come to him, let him meet her, and then we will go to Skywalker, if he is convinced."

Aayla frowned. "There's something odd about that," she said softly. "I'd think he would be eagerly grabbing at the chance to provide safety to the men."

"It's not the chip he doubts." Kit gave an apologetic flick of his tentacles in Atin's direction. 

Atin squared her jaw and shoulders, making her resemblance to the vod'e come through in spades. "Is it the time travel or who I am that he's balking on?"

"Time travel is a bit much," Kit said. "I left out your parentage. He's very fond of Ahsoka, after all, and would see that as one more piece of you being a potential trap, if you were so conveniently related."

Atin eased back from her stance then. "I understand now. At least he's not being the bantha-rump that helped set my mother up for near-death, yet."

Kit needed to know the details of that so badly, so he could head it off. "You can see he is just trying to protect the men by being absolutely certain?"

"Oh yes, Jedi and Sith and Absolutes," Atin said with faint irritation. "I'll go with you. I want my uncles all safe, and I want that Sith sent to the abyss. I can meet the paranoia of a Kel Dor who needs proof."

Kit and Aayla exchanged a glance, before he recalled he'd come in his fighter. Before he could ask, though, Aayla was looking at Atin. 

"Can you pilot a fighter like Master Fisto's?"

Atin nodded. "Not my favorite, in any single-man fighter, but I met mother's approval as a pilot. And my _buir_ says I have crashed fewer ships than she has."

Aayla had to smile. "In her defense, at least one of those ships was mine, and in very bad shape when she got the controls." She indicated for them to follow her to the bay, so they could get underway.

* * *

Wolffe was standing just off his general's shoulder when the two fighters landed, and the cockpits opened. He felt, on an empathic level, as Plo startled and grew even more wary on seeing the second pilot. Kit Fisto was a known and welcome visitor, but the other…

Wolffe saw the montrals, not any taller than Commander Tano's, and the skin was darker, but the blue and white patterns were so similar. The facial markings, too, reminded Wolffe of the young woman in the 501st.

For her part, Atin felt an unusual part of trepidation, for all that she had put a brave front on. This was the man that had failed to keep her mother safe, and yet had made a place where the vod'e could be hidden away. Her mother had spoken of him with great love and affection in early stories, always followed by pain, and a lack of understanding for later. She had let Kit persuade her to remove the pigments disguising her marks, but it left her feeling naked to this man that had begun Ahsoka Tano's journey as an avatar of the Force.

"Master Plo Koon, Commander Wolffe," Kit began. "This is our informant, Atin," he said, using the name she preferred for now. "Master… may we go to a private place to speak?"

"I think that we should," Plo agreed, staring puzzledly at the young woman that watched him so warily and with such a complete level of smooth Teras Kasi shielding. "Does my wardroom suit?" 

"Yes, Master, it will." Kit moved to be closer to Atin, aware she was not at ease at all, and certain it all came back to the mistakes the Council made in the history she knew.

Atin half-appreciated that, but she was already distracting herself by looking Wolffe over, seeing the younger man he had been, noting the scowl had already embedded itself in small lines around the mouth and eyes. That, at least, was reassuring. Her Uncle Growly, as she had once called him when small, was everything she had expected after being exposed to the 327th.

The four moved to the wardroom and got settled in, Wolffe only taking a seat after Plo gave him a firm look, and that … that made Atin warm some toward the elder Jedi.

"As I told you when you touched my mind earlier, Atin was brought through from the Force, from a future that must not come to pass," Kit said. "Master Secura was aware of the Force ripple, but tied down in medical at the time. Bravo-- one of them-- investigated the disturbance and found her. We have been dealing with her revelations one by one… the first of which is this." Kit pulled out a clear vial with a chip inside it.

"What is that?" Wolffe asked, keeping his voice polite, if not slightly aggressive.

"A chip that you no longer have, Commander," Atin said. "The damage you took destroyed yours, but every single one of your brothers has one, and it is not benign."

Plo stared at it in flat revulsion -- Kit had told him what this strange messenger had said, what they had found, but the way of it still left him wary and cautious. Time travel was only hinted at in even the oldest Baran Do records, and was otherwise the stuff of holodramas. That this young Atin had Kit and Aayla both convinced was a powerful statement for her, but it was not confirmation. 

"The chip is a great deal of proof that you have information on your side," he said, "but surely you realize how much you are asking us to take on faith?"

She met his gaze evenly, familiar with the way the goggles worked, able to read the tusks. "I understand much, Sage Koon," she said, before her lips twitched in amusement. "My mother often said that she was grateful to you for providing for the men. Those that my parents freed from the chip found the moon quite livable."

Kit watched carefully, curious about this, wondering if it would be the proof Plo needed, if she spoke of something his Finder had done in secret. No one took Kel Dor secrets without paying a huge price, after all.

Plo Koon made a sharp, startled noise at that phrase, shocked for two reasons. One was the half-revealed identity of the young woman's mother, the other -- 

\-- **no-one** but himself, off Dorin, knew about that project. About what he hoped to give as a gift to his men. Absolutely no-one, they were using entirely their own people to construct it. For anyone to know.... 

"And how did your mother find out about that little secret of mine? Did I tell her?" 

"No. She went to Dorin to try and learn more, because there was this whole thing where she was no longer in the Order, and all the Jedi she might have trusted were dead," Atin said evenly. "Healer Lia entrusted her with the information she needed, while an elder Sage by name of… Trup? Took on teaching her."

Plo analyzed that carefully -- though the 'no longer in the Order' made his dental plates grind against each other for a long moment. Losing Ahsoka, because that was who this girl's mother had to be, by the markings and the carriage and the blatant care for the vod'e, would be a blow they could scarce afford. 

And Skywalker would **never** turn her out, so how -- 

\-- not important, but not permissible, either. 

The two names, with proper titles, were as much or more convincing than anything else. Lia would never have trusted someone not his foundling, someone not utterly beloved, with that information, and Elder Sage Trup was a demanding teacher who would have only accepted her with the best of reasons. 

"All right," he said, slowly, "I find myself convinced. You are, in fact, from a future." 

"A future I have no wish to see come to pass." She looked then at Wolffe. "I know you as my _ba'vodu_ , and I know you are already agitated at my words of no Jedi my mother would have trusted being alive. I am sorry, Commander, but the future I come from is a harsh one, for the _jetiise_ and vod'e alike.

"What I will say is very harsh, but I do not want it to come to pass. I don't want to see any of my uncles fall to these chips. I don't want the Order destroyed; my parents said there were many good sentients among them," Atin said.

Commander Wolffe nodded sharply. "Say it then, and let's start breaking that future."

Atin smiled briefly at him, then focused back on Plo. "The chip has orders that can be triggered by the true Sith behind all of this. It will steal the men from themselves, make them commit the worst of blasphemy, as my father put it, by having them turn on their generals and commanders. I know how to disable it individually, but not a mass fix."

Plo hissed, low sharp noise, as that idea filtered through his mind and left him sick with horror and anger. To turn the vod'e, with all of their devotion, against them... and if Wolffe did not have one, and had survived -- he moved, reaching for his First Son, and curled his talons around his wrist in a hard grip, washing calm resolution down the bond between them. 

Wolffe's jaw had ground down hard, but then his _jetii_ was holding his wrist, and touching his mind more fully and that… that was why it would not come to pass. As a unit, they were unstoppable, with the shadows lifted to point them clearly.

"You know who the Sith is," Wolffe growled, not a question, more a demand.

"Yes. But, even with all my respect for one of my first uncles, I can't say it aloud to you," Atin said. "There's flash training at work, and I won't risk setting off some unknown pitfall."

"We didn't tell Bly either, Commander," Kit said, to ease that refusal.

Wolffe bit back a growl, letting his frustration run only across the bond... but after a moment, grudging and vexed, he had to admit that it made sense that there could be further traps. He just hated not being able to know what the threat to his vod'e, the source of all the deaths and maimings and pain, was. 

That they hadn't informed Bly, either, did help to settle him. "All right," he rumbled. 

Plo squeezed gently, washing another wave of determination and hard-won calm and pride down the bond to him. "...it sounds as though that is wise," he agreed, if somewhat unhappily. "All right. This is why you need Bultar and Skywalker," he said, moving on. "If any two can take that thing apart and determine how to defend all the vod'e at once from its effect, it is them." 

If Skywalker didn't have a screaming meltdown at the concept... 

"And that means we need your help. Master Secura is rendezvousing with Knight Swan," Kit said smoothly. "But Skywalker needs assistance before he will be able to properly focus on the matter at hand. There's other factors at work."

Atin grimaced, then nodded. "It will take a mind healer to confirm or deny, but yes, Master Koon. My parents were convinced of those other factors."

"Mmm," Plo said. Ahsoka Tano loved Anakin Skywalker almost as fiercely as he loved the men, far more fiercely than either should according to many Jedi... but he was Baran Do, and believed in the value of clan. "Do you have reason to disbelieve them?" 

"Let's just say my faith has been shaken a number of times, and there are several reasons I don't normally use my given name," Atin said with dark humor in her voice. "I never knew the man they named me for, only what was left by everything that happened."

"Giving Skywalker the puzzle of the chip, for after you speak with him, is part of a plan to keep him on track," Kit admitted.

'Only what was left'... that was a horrifying thought, and Plo wondered and worried for Qui-Gon's last, most difficult foundling, for his last padawan and what another loss might do to him, and... "Well. I must do what I can for him, then. Whatever these other factors are." 

"Good." Atin tipped her head to the side, closing her eyes. "If my father was correct, though, on why things were engineered to take my mother away from him, every person he is close to will need to be on guard, if the Sith suspects we have spiked that plan."

"I am certain that Skywalker, once aware of what we suspect, will be able to stay clear, and prevent that from happening," Kit soothed her.

"Take your mother fro -- oh, _winds blast_ ," Plo swore, releasing his hand from around Wolffe's wrist before he hurt him. "He lost her ahead of -- when he's so -- " he descended into Dorin profanity then, because having her ripped away rather than seeing her safely through her Trials and needing to fly on her own would have wrecked everything Yoda had been trying to do with Skywalker. He disapproved, violently, of using his little huntress so, but she had wanted it so badly, too. 

"I hope all of you are right, and he's not fooling you as much as the piece of filth pulling all the strings," Atin said coolly. "My parents both seemed to love him after all."


	4. Chapter Four

While Kit remained with Plo's legions, Atin and Plo Koon headed for the 501st, with the elder contemplating the rest of what had been revealed once Commander Wolffe had been excused from the meeting.

How in all of the winds of Dorin had the Sith managed to hide so closely? 

Adi Gallia was going to have a complete fit to know her insistence on letting Skywalker be their emissary to the man had resulted in harm to the young man. He refused to believe the idea that Anakin was playing a long game; there was too much trauma lurking under the surface in Qui-Gon's foundling, too many issues of behavior for it to be a ruse.

He liked the young man, but he was not blind to the potential faults at work. He had thought the young Knight was calming down, with a padawan and men of his own to guide.

Said padawan was, unsurprisingly, the first to meet the two incoming starfighters, and Plo's tusks twitched with amusement for what was to come. Being Kel Dor, he did not immediately disapprove of the future Ahsoka Tano having had a child. If nothing else, the loss of so many Force Sensitives made it almost imperative, given her relative power.

Atin didn't resonate on that level, not to his senses, but her shielding was also as impressive as it could be, which might have been blinding his awareness of her ability level. He glanced over, and noticed that Atin had obscured her white markings; Kit had mentioned she had acquired makeup to do so among Aayla's men.

Perhaps that was for the best, but he suspected the subterfuge would not last long.

"Koh-to-yah, Master Koon!" Ahsoka said as she came to a stop just shy of invading his personal space, her concession to the stranger with him. "My master is on the bridge, but said he'd meet with you in the wardroom there."

Atin managed, barely, to bring her surprise completely under wraps. Her mother was tiny! The other Togruta's montrals were barely there, much like Atin's! The lekku barely came down to chest level!

It was such a shock, seeing Ahsoka Tano, before the final growth spurts, and Atin wanted to kick herself in the _shebs_ for letting something so minor hit her balance so hard. She needed to wrap her head around this, and that Captain Rex was going to look more like Bly than her father.

"Koh-to-yah, Ahsoka," Plo Koon answered, and reached out to squeeze her shoulder in greeting, delighted to see her as he always was. The flash of momentary shock from Atin amused him, and he was amazed at how quickly she'd gotten it back under those formidable shields. "This is Atin, of a... splinter faction, we'll say, who brought us some critical intelligence. 

"I didn't have time to show her around the _Victorum_ ; would you be willing to do the honors for the _Resolute_?" 

"I can," Ahsoka said, eyeing the unknown Togruta for a long moment. Something odd to the shape of the montrals, or maybe she wasn't as old as her height implied? No, the lekku were slightly off, coming to blunter ends than most who had lekku reaching down to mid ribs. Odd, but Master Plo was vouching for her.

"I'd be honored to have the tour. Master Secura was rather busy as well, when I had her hospitality," Atin said, fully in control of her emotions again.

"Thank you, Ahsoka," Plo said, patting her shoulder before he let go. "I'll make my way to the wardroom on my own, thank you." 

"No problem, Master," Ahsoka answered, then looked at the strange Togruta again. "So, welcome aboard. I guess we'll start from here...." 

Atin nodded and settled in for the tour, listening to the names of the brothers they passed, even though she didn't expect to meet any of her uncles here. Her father had long ago given up hope of finding any of them or the 212th.

* * *

Plo started with the chip. He took the clear vial out and set it on the table between himself and Anakin.

"We have a dire problem, Skywalker."

Anakin tensed, looking at the thing in a vial, a little electronic device that seemed inert and harmless, but... Master Plo wouldn't have left the entire Wolfpack behind and come in haste if it wasn't seriously. "What's that, Master? And what's wrong?" 

"That came out of either the medic or the Commander of the 327th, on intel from a most unusual source," Plo told him. "A source that I have verified as accurate, when my initial reaction was to mistrust this as a manipulation.

"The only manipulations in play, though, are the Sith plans. The chip is a part of those, as every man in our units is carrying one. My former padawan is studying the other one."

" _What?_ " Anakin asked, the yell it wanted to be strangled off in his throat by pure horror and rage, his eyes flaring wide. 

Chips, in their men. Chips, in people considered property more _than_ people. 

Chips. There was always a chip. Always a way to stop rebellion. Always a -- 

Why hadn't he _thought?!_

"Anakin?" Plo said, using the young man's first name on purpose. "Come away from those emotions and listen to me. Because there is more."

He had felt the edge of a storm of danger. Was that part of the manipulation? Had the Sith lowered this brilliant young man's ability to guard his emotions?

Anakin sucked a breath, trying to pull away from it at Master Plo's call -- Master Plo wouldn't let this stand, he had to be planning to do something about it. 

He had to find out the rest, he had to, no matter how much he wanted to go and -- no. No, he couldn't fail like that again, no matter how much the longnecks would deserve it. He had to find out what the rest of the threat was, what the risk to their men was. 

That was the only important thing. "Yes, Master? Sorry. I'm listening." 

"The chip is only one side of the intended demise of the Order, my young friend. The Sith has been cultivating a very promising Knight for years, even before their Knighting, actually, and I have to find a way to sever that tie," Plo said. "A two-pronged attack on the Order from those we trust most… it would be devastating to all, yes?"

Anakin had gone completely still at the 'demise of the Order' comment, and his mind immediately reached out for his padawan, touching her, needing to know she was safe, even as he listened to Master Plo. 

The Sith, working on a Knight? How could one get close enough to do that? Especially before a Knighting? How could their Master miss it, or fail to intervene? 

"It'd destroy the _vod'e_ to be used against us, Master," Anakin said, "and... yes, it would, but why come to me for that part, Master? I mean, you might not have noticed, but I'm _not_ exactly the most popular guy among my age-mates..." 

"And that, my young friend, might eventually make me forgive myself for failing to see it," Plo said softly. "But then, I was never fond of any outside relationship during the formative years of a master and padawan training. Even I did not go to my own people to learn until I was an adult." He reached a hand, palm out, to Anakin. "My friend… who can give orders to the men and bypass their generals completely?"

Anakin tried to follow the first part of that logic, failed utterly, and then Master Plo asked him that, and the answer came up out of all of their strategic training instantly, but -- that was ridiculous. He stared at Master Plo, shaking his head, "The Chancellor, I think, but you can't mean... he doesn't have the Force..." 

"So we all believed," Plo said evenly. "I rather wish I could push a mandatory midichlorian count through for the politicians, yet even that wouldn't be conclusive, as they tend to be subsumed by those who use the Dark Side.

"Hmm, a very low number in a human would be telling too, given that there is a range in a non-Sensitive." Plo purposefully had digressed, but now he focused on Anakin again. "The Order has been a difficult place for you, I know, even if I have failed to learn the whys of it. Could it perhaps be that the various culture clashes of your upbringing and our methods have been… exacerbated?"

'Believed'? Past tense? 

Anakin cocked his head for a moment, his eyes narrowing at Master Plo, because that didn't make any sense. Most of the Council was around the Chancellor all the time, Master Plo himself had been the Consular for him for a while, there was no way he actually thought the _Chancellor_ was a Sith. 

Hah! As though anyone'd ever actually cared about _why_ he had a hard time with things, Anakin thought, and pushed it away -- that reaction didn't help, it never had. 

'Exacerbated'? He blinked, shifting back a little, as he turned that over in his head and tried to make sense of it. "I don't think I understand, Master..." 

"Shall I be blunt, Anakin?" Plo asked him. "I know Qui-Gon often was, but Tahl and our other friends were forever chiding him for it, suggesting he learn to be gentle in his words." Plo pointed at the chip. "I fear that the Sith has planted the Force equivalent of that in you, priming you to be open to the Dark Side, and is just waiting to trigger that within you when he is ready, probably by framing the Jedi in the harm of someone you care about."

That he knew from Atin, on their deeper discussion, that the Senator of Naboo was a person she did not know, Plo could guess which one. He just wasn't going to say it right now.

"...in _me_?" Anakin repeated, unable to believe the idea -- but -- the fact of the chip was sitting right in front of him, the threat to his men, his _vod'e_ something real and immediate, and he had to protect them. 

He wasn't going to fail them like he'd failed -- 

\-- He couldn't think about that with Master Plo right there! 

And it wasn't as though he could _argue_ with the 'open to the Dark Side', he heard it so often, but... 

"Anakin." Plo took on the most patient, gentlest tone of a father as he could muster… and that was a lot… to speak to the young man. "I fear you are operating under compulsions. Even if that is not true, anything revealed in the course of me searching would be sealed between you and I. Depending on how it affects your mental health, I might ask that we discuss it further, but you would control that part.

"This is what it means for me to be a mind healer; I will not broach your privacy to others. My own people would shun me, and Dorin would be barred to me." He held his hand out to the human once more. "Let me help you."

Anakin stared at him, almost jerking back, but... someone he could talk to, without being afraid of what would happen? 

There would be worse consequences for Master Plo, if he revealed any of it? 

That -- he shouldn't, it -- no, he did want... How many times had he wanted someone that knew the Force that could look at what he'd done? Fighting himself, and bone-deep afraid, he reached for that hand. 

Plo's closed gently around Anakin's, and then his mind was lightly finding its way into Anakin's as well, to begin the healing that was needed.

* * *

Ahsoka had twitched, minutely, several times during the tour, but stuck to her duty. Skyguy was afraid? Angry? Hurting?

"Your Finder is working through some compulsions, I think. At least if everybody is right about the fact that my… knowledge of a future revealed," Atin said, taking pity on Ahsoka when they were alone in a lift. "It's why I am here. To help break the Sith hold, part of which depended on your Master Falling."

Ahsoka's lekku flexed violently. "He'd never!"

"If he is under the Sith's thumb unknowingly? If everyone he cares about is maneuvered away from him so the Sith is the only one he feels he can trust?" Atin pointedly asked. "If it is all manipulations, Master Koon will be able to fix it, yes?"

Ahsoka glared at the stranger for a moment, angry at the insult to her Master and the very idea that he could ever lose himself that badly -- but then her blood ran ice-cold at those pointed, edged questions. If Skyguy lost everybody, if somehow, the other Sith they knew was out there had stuck compulsions in Skyguy's head, if he was -- 

She staggered, catching herself on the back wall of the lift, as a dozen uneasy feelings and misgivings and moments she hadn't liked snapped into a different focus, and she felt her lekku bleaching as the only logical conclusion slapped her in the face. "No," she whispered, "no, no." 

Atin could not help but move and reach out to steady the other. "From what I know, he's in good hands for this?" 

"Master Plo is the best hands Skyguy could be in," Ahsoka agreed, once she could think past the horrified fear, "but that doesn't... the creepy old guy has pretended to be his friend for so _long_ , it's not -- that's not going to be good."

She wasn't going to say her Master was going to be wrecked to a complete stranger, no matter how much faith Master Plo seemed willing to put in Atin. She didn't trust very many people with Skyguy, and the list had just drastically shrunk. 

Atin smiled. "Should have realized you'd know who so fast." She drew back into her personal space and sighed. "You won't be able to talk to anyone about it right away. There's a trap, in addition to the flash training in the way.

"Master Koon has those details too. He plans to ask your Master to help."

'Trap', and 'flash training' meant her boys, and Ahsoka felt every inch of her go taut and tensely dangerous as if she was less than a meter from an akul -- any threat to her _vod'e_ was worse than an akul. 

Atin nodded in response to the body language, her lekku flicking in the specific way of agreement. "Knight Swan and your master are to work on the trap, breaking it. The flash training… will be harder. But if we can prove who the Sith is, it will kick their treason button in high gear."

And there was literally nothing the boys hated and despised more than a traitor. A coward came very close, but didn't quite reach the level of revulsion they held for a traitor. Ahsoka nodded slowly, making herself relax, making herself settle back down -- if her Master was feeling her at all, she didn't want to make Master Plo's job any harder. "Yeah... that would. Which will help a lot. As soon as Skyguy figures out how to deal with whatever this trap is." 

The fervent faith in Skywalker was so strong, and Atin found herself hoping that Ahsoka and all the others were right. She never wanted her parents to know the future she came from, and would not be the one to say it to either.

That made her wonder, briefly, if the Force would preserve her in this new timeline, or if she would simply cease to be, when the history was set against the Sith.

It didn't matter; she was its servant before all else.

"Thank you, Commander, for listening to me on this," Atin said.

Ahsoka shrugged. "Master Plo says he believes you. And you know about threats to my Skyguy and my vod'e. I have to listen." 

Atin knew better… but she kept her mouth shut. Her mother had only ever listened to the ideas, and then did exactly as she felt needed doing.


	5. Chapter Five

They were still with the 501st when Atin had to put her credits where her mouth was in regards to Asajj Ventress. She had agreed to drop on a mission; Plo Koon was not certain that Skywalker was completely steady, but he'd had to go back to his unit.

She was good in a fight with blasters and grenades. However, as she felt the slither of Dark and Rage and Hate that was Asajj on a bad day snake across her awareness, she disengaged, and began her hunt for the assassin. As she moved, she pulled her smaller lightsaber up to her hand with a practiced Force-tug. She kept it in the reverse position for now, as it would serve her better in that grip, especially if she did have to draw the newer one she had made on Aaylas'ecura's ship.

This, at least, was a challenge for her to use some her pent-up energy with. Straight fights and talking to people were all well and good, but a Hunt? That was as much an exhilaration for her as for her mother… and her father, not that he'd admit it half the time.

What was Asajj after… ahh, she was maneuvering toward the Separatist command. Orders were probably to kill the sentient commander and destroy the tactical droid's memory units, indicating that they had been deemed likely to lose this engagement and that they had information of value. Atin's teeth showed briefly; she'd enjoy stopping this almost as much as preventing her uncles from being killed or maimed by the assassin.

Unfortunately, Asajj was even cannier in her prime than as the Mother of a clan on Dathomir, and Atin found herself blocking a 'saber strike on sheer instinct.

"Who are you?"

The three words were the best opening Atin could have asked for. "A named and counted sister of the Clan of Black Gorge," Atin said, letting the shock that sent through Asajj give her space between them, still only keeping the small lightsaber up.

"Impossible!"

"Not when the Force is holding my life as its own!" Atin protested as she parried the attack that came with the words. "You are both clan-mother and spirit-mother to me!" She willed Asajj to hear the Force's truth in those words, prayed the woman could listen through her anger. "Parlay, please, Asajj Ventress, friend of Vold, Rebuilder of Dathomir."

The words had been said between the flurry of blows she had to dodge and parry, thankful that Asajj had been one of her teachers. She might not like using her lightsaber, but the familiarity was probably the only thing keeping her head and limbs attached right now.

Amazingly, the pale fighter backed off, glaring at the younger Togruta. "Rebuilder?"

"The Count is going to betray you. You try to take revenge; it goes badly. Dathomir was … ravaged. But you and allies were able to rebuild as the Sith turned their attention elsewhere. One of them was my mother, and you are the one that midwifed her when I happened," Atin said quickly. "How else could I know about Vold? You haven't seen him since you were sold away. 

"And I know that ring you wear is the ring of Ky Narec, the last thing of his you own! Please listen to me!"

That last made Asajj actually dip her lightsaber down, a softening of features that also managed to imply a quick death if this was a trap. Atin would love to know how she did that.

"When will he betray me?"

"Sometime in the next few months, because you were not with him when… when my mother first crossed your path as a not-enemy." Atin raised her jaw at the memory of those stories. That could not come to pass, which meant warning someone that the Padawan Offee was unhinged. "The Sith mean to eliminate all of their connections within our sisters. I don't want that to happen, Spirit-Mother," Atin said earnestly. "I don't think you do, either. Not when you could do for them as your Jedi teacher did for you, and save them that."

Again, Atin saw that the mention of Ky was causing softer emotions, but with the edge of having her personal treasure intruded upon.

"What are you asking of me?"

Atin took a deep breath. "Two things. Leave this conflict to prepare your people for the Sith betrayal. Because no matter what, everything indicates the Count, or his master, never intended to share power with such strong Force users."

"And the second? If I choose to believe?"

Now Atin powered her lightsaber off, and trusted in emotional honesty. "A home. When I am done, if the Force allows for me to remain within the new time I create, I cannot stay in the Republic. It would be too awkward. I want to come back to the planet of my birth, and stand at your side."

Asajj considered for a long moment, and Atin's spine itched with the danger in the pause. Then the dual lightsaber shut off with a pair of hisses, and Asajj nodded.

"I think, young one, I will look forward to that." With that, the assassin moved on, and Atin had to hold herself back, trust in what she thought was Asajj's better nature coming to play. Granted, it was shaped more like self-interest and a path for power among the Nightsisters, but it would save her uncles, and those women and men that had suffered when Dathomir had been attacked.

* * *

Bultar Swan had arrived on the _Resolute_ two days after Atin had faced Asajj Ventress. She put her notes together with Anakin's, and between the two of them, they came up with a burst of code embedded in a carrier signal that would render the chips inoperable. 

Unfortunately, it sent Ahsoka to her knees, and gave Atin a blinding headache, but neither of the Togruta were going to complain if it meant the men were free from the influence. The carrier wave was just inside Atin's range of hearing, and apparently well within Ahsoka's. For once, Atin was glad her range wasn't as good as a full Togruta's.

"What now, with the solution for the men?" Ahsoka asked, once the men had been briefed and everything was back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as a seething, battle-ready mass of soldiers could be with a need for vengeance.

"I can pass it through the units," Bultar said, rubbing her younger friend's montrals to soothe the last of the ache there. "As part of the usual security updates. I'm known to hand-carry them. And I can enlist Master Fisto to help me, once I catch up with him."

"Good idea except there's a small problem," Atin said. "Certain Fleet and other military personnel are fully in the Sith's pockets."

Bultar frowned. "You have a list?" 

Atin was grateful that one of the other masters she had worked with already had spoken to this woman, and convinced Bultar to trust her.

"I do. But it might be partial. Anyone that died before my sources compiled the 'who helped his agenda list' won't be on it," she said.

"Ghost code it to their ships," Anakin said. "I know you know how to do that, Knight Swan. We clear the units we can trust fully, and only activate the others when we know we have to disable them… or we nail that piece of filth to the wall."

Bultar smiled brightly at him. "Planning to join the Sentinels, Knight Skywalker? With thinking like that, we could take you!"

"I don't think I'm sneaky enough, normally," Anakin said, blinking a little at the warm, welcoming praise, "but... maybe? Honestly, before the war broke out, I hadn't really thought about what path to take after I was a Knight. Of course, I also thought I had a couple of years, yet." 

"I understand that. We'd decided Obi-Wan was going to keep you as close as his master did him," Bultar agreed. "Nothing wrong in that; I probably would not have Knighted so young if my first Master had lived."

There was a touch of sadness to that, but more of an acknowledgment that life had changed for her. Atin thought she approved of the balance between emotion and practical.

Anakin nodded after a second's surprise -- other people had paid any attention to him and his Master, over the years? -- and smiled over at her. "I saw a good little bit of him, while Master Plo was helping straighten my head out. I'm sorry I never got to meet him." 

Bultar smiled. "He would have liked you, I think. You argue, not just nod and go along."

That sounded suspiciously like Knight Swan and this unknown former Master were aware of the breaks in the Order.

"I think I'd have liked him," Anakin said, his mouth quirking, "and he would have started a fad with those eyebrows." 

That set Bultar to laughing, a quiet, happy sound. "Maybe I should show Thrust a picture of him," she mused when she could talk again. "But back to the tasks at hand… I think we have a solid plan to protect the men, but there's the Home Guard to consider."

"You have to weaponize the cure, and have a team prepared to use it," Atin said firmly, getting glares from all of the others. "Look, I don't like it either, but you can't tackle them earlier than the actual tackling of the Sith!

"Commander Fox never had a Jedi. Commander Thire only rarely worked with one. Both have been subject to a Sith, all unknowingly, since being assigned to Coruscant." Atin stood her ground, remembering her mother's words about not hating Fox, about pitying him, and how that had broken her father into tears as he understood her reasoning. "The cure needs to be used to incapacitate them, same as you're planning for the ones in those units we are concerned over, so they cannot take actions they would regret if they had their minds fully to themselves."

"I don't like it," Ahsoka said, taking advantage of her youth to say what all of them were thinking.

"I don't either, but I also don't want that slimy piece of cowardly treachery to slip away when it is time to move, because the Vod'e An can't help themselves," Atin told her.

"Are you going to Coruscant next?" Bultar asked to turn aside Ahsoka's commentary.

Atin shrugged. "I don't know? I'm no politician, and I don't know how long I can actually be polite to certain Jedi, given things I know. But Master Fisto mentioned arranging for me to speak to a few Senators to help them find the right path to take."

"More power to you," Ahsoka said blithely. "I can't see me ever working hand in hand with Senators… no offense, Skyguy."

That nearly broke Atin, and she had to cross her arms over her lekku to make certain they did not betray her mirth.


	6. Chapter Six

"It is good to see you again!" Kit said as he met Atin in a diner that had been described to her, but never seen. The planet, itself, was much like that, and Atin was struggling to cope with the press of so many people in one place. "And you are still wearing the makeup. Good. Some of the Senators I plan to introduce you to know Padawan Tano," he said.

"Too early for Mom to be that close to Senator Chuchi, but she would already be friends with Senator Amidala," Atin mused quietly, to set things in her own head.

Kit didn't probe the comment; padawans tended to explore many things, and Ahsoka Tano was a precocious one at that. There were faint rumors, after all, that she had managed to break Offee's self-imposed isolation.

"I think starting with Amidala is best, as she is a known opponent to the expansion of power. Arming her with facts may will topple things quickly," Kit said, glad Dex had given them the back room to meet in.

Atin nodded to that. "Mother told me that Senator Organa called her the Mother of the Rebellion, even if she failed to see it. And I know Mon Mothma respected her greatly." She had been part of the Alliance that worked closest with the Chandrillian, as Bail had wanted a Force User close to his partner in leadership.

"I think you will judge for yourself, as you have done with us," Kit said with faith the judgment would be positive. "Shall we go begin tearing apart this regime?"

"By all means, Master Fisto," Atin replied, rising and dropping a few credits on the table for the man that owned the diner.

* * *

Kit and Atin arrived and slipped into the Naboo Senator's apartment easily, escorted there by one of her aides. After a moment, Padmé emerged, dressed more simply than her Senatorial attire, yet still looking as elegant as any of her father's sketches.

Atin had to struggle to not stare, as this woman had figured into a few of the stories she had grown up on.

"Thank you, for seeing us, Senator," Kit said.

Padmé smiled slightly, shaking her head as she moved to greet them. "When a Master of the Council asks me to see them, on an important matter, of course I clear the time, Master Fisto. I thought for a moment that you had Ahsoka with you, but I see not. Greetings, young Jedi, and welcome. 

"What can I do for you?" 

"Firstly, before my friend can correct you, she is not technically a Jedi, though she serves the Force, and the Light," Kit said. "I don't want any lies between us, even of omission," he said seriously. "Given that this conversation will be unpleasant."

Atin pulled a device out, one that looked like a security jammer, but smaller. "May I?" she asked, acknowledging that Padmé probably had her own and that this was her place.  
"Be my guest," Padmé replied, though she was startled at the idea that her security devices weren't considered enough. But then, if this was going to be an unpleasant conversation, the more the better. 

"Well, Jedi or no, she has your faith. It is enough for me." 

Atin set the device to an active mode, setting it on the table in front of them, before she breathed a sigh of relief to have her own tools protecting her secrets.

"Milady Amidala, I fear you will be very vexed with the news we bring, but must ask that you practice every discipline of the mind you have," Kit said. "As we have no wish of the Sith learning we are making plans against him until you are ready to move with the Senate on your side."

"Getting the Senate on my side seems more unlikely every day," Padmé said, with a quiet sigh, before she sat down and folded her hands in her lap. That posture made it easier for her to draw on the training given to all Naboo political candidates on controlling their emotions and their presentation even when under stress... and then added the exercises Anakin had slipped her since their marriage, until she felt as though she were as insulated inside herself as she was going to ever accomplish. "All right -- I think I have enough control of myself, whatever terrible news you bring." 

"We know who the Sith is, because of Atin, here, for the Force saw fit to bring us a member of those who resist him in a terrible future," Kit said. "Yes, hard to believe, but Master Plo Koon has interviewed her, and she has already led us to one piece of the trap and defused it."

"Lady Amidala," Atin began then. "You must not let your anger take hold of you strongly; it will feed his ability to manipulate you further," she said. "Because it is the man that is currently Chancellor."

Padmé found herself beyond grateful that she had been so warned and so deep inside her exercises, because they shielded her from the utter rage that wanted to take root in her. She held it at bay, made herself breathe, and looked at Kit Fisto to check with him -- not because she didn't believe the girl, but simply because she was a stranger and Kit was well known to her. 

Kit slowly nodded in the human fashion, his tentacles flicking in agitation. "The trap she led us to, that Skywalker and Swan have disarmed for the most part, can only be set off by him. Master Koon interviewed Atin at length, and the man she knows as 'Emperor' is certainly the same as our Chancellor."

"There are any number," Padmé said slowly, still holding on to all of her calming exercises with a death grip, "of Naboo poisons with consumable antidotes I could likely get into a shared meal with him. One or two even have a sufficiently miserable death." 

Atin flashed her teeth in a relieved smile to hear that. "No wonder my father and the leaders of the Rebellion looked up to you so. Well, possibly save for Organa; he's a peaceful man, mostly," she said with that same smile. "Unfortunately, he had access to a Night Sister of some power for a long while, and may mostly be immune or know how to thwart them in his body.

"Instead, milady, may I offer you a list of Senators, Representatives, and military men that were promoted and enriched immediately after the fall of the Republic?"

"On the idea that one of them may not have been so careful as _he_ ," she heard herself snarl, and took several deep breaths, "has been about hiding their tracks, their corruption? Yes, my young friend, I will take that, quite definitely." 

Kit smiled to see Atin relaxing toward the Senator, and for the Senator to be willing to listen. "I am to remain on Coruscant for the duration; technically I will be teaching in the creche for a period. In reality, I am at the disposal of both of you and your allies.

"As I will be able to coordinate some of the Sentinels toward your investigation discreetly, given that my Master is one of them and recalled to focus on this."

"That will be _incredibly_ helpful, Master Kit," Padmé replied, her mind already racing over how to deal with this, how to turn what this stranger knew of things that hadn't happened yet into something she could use to bring the downfall of the traitor in the Republic's highest office. Traitor to the Republic, traitor to their own people, manipulative lying despicable -- 

\-- she forced herself away from that train of thought, but trying to do that reminded her of Anakin, and that made the blood drain from her face and her hands went cold. "...Master Kit... Anakin? Is he...?" 

Kit nodded. "Master Koon and he had a very long session, I am told. He will not, unfortunately, be able to come to Coruscant in the near future," he said regretfully. "As there are issues, and a matter of impulse control."

Atin managed to hide her mirth at that. Someone that had trained her mother had impulse control issues? She never could have guessed.

"He... would probably do something reckless and ill-advised," Padmé had to agree, even though she hated that she couldn't see him, couldn't hold him and tell him how sorry she was -- but it was best that he not. It really was. 

And it sounded as though he wasn't going to be in trouble from anything that might have come out of he and Master Koon's 'session', so... good. 

"If you can accept Atin into your staff, for the present, it would be helpful," Kit said. "She is gifted in the particular form of mental discipline that non-Force users have developed--"

"And the martial art that goes with it, if you wish to learn that," Atin intejected.

"--and could reinforce your formidable defenses while you work together on this," Kit ended, before grinning broadly at Atin for the interruption. She was every bit as impertinent as her mother, with a bit more of the bluntness of her father, and he found he rather liked it.

"I would be glad to," Padmé answered, "and yes, I think I will take both varieties of lessons, as we have time for them, Atin. I think my political allies and I will need every bit of assistance we can get, as we start on this." 

"I'll be glad to help you, milady." Atin wanted this woman safe, and would give her all to make certain of it. Both of her parents had spoken so highly of her. 

"Then I will leave Atin in your care, Senator, and go speak with my Master to better prepare her for the level of intensity that will be needed in the investigations," Kit said, readying to leave. "I will pass on to Skywalker that you looked quite well," he added by way of reassurance on that level.

"Thank you, Atin. And thank you, Master Kit," Padmé said, getting up to walk him back out -- and to tell Moté to send for Sabé, immediately. If they were going to accomplish this, she was going to need her spymistress at her side, not halfway across the galaxy. 

Or at least at her side long enough to be properly briefed on what was necessary.

* * *

Maybe Atin had stayed too close to where the man was, or one of the various lines of investigation had touched back to his network, but before Padmé had her full array of evidence built, there was an invasion at Coruscant.

Atin knew what this was, knew it to be a diversion, and made certain the Jedi knew it too.

The effort to capture the Sith on the Separatist side erupted then, as Master Tiin was almost certain they could push the man to betray his master, if they presented the fact that they knew what Palpatine actually was.

The anti-chip devices had been parcelled out to Senators that were trusted, and every Jedi that could be expected to be in the field had one.

The Temple speakers were rigged to deliver the kill-signal too, just in case.

And then the plans went completely sideways, as a Commander overheard Saesee Tiin accuse the Chancellor of treason as he fought with Dooku, aided by Kit Fisto and Nejaa Halcyon.

Atin, on the ground, fighting a phalanx of droids alongside some of the Home Guard and regular troops both heard an order relayed and felt a shift in the men. The Home Guard focus was no longer on the civilian population they were supposed to be protecting, and the regular troops were… struggling? Yes, she could feel their confusion at whatever had been relayed through the comms.

"We've got trouble!" she said into her own comm, tuned into the Jedi command band at Kit's insistence. "Get him to say it, or this is all going to _haran_ right now!"

"Who do we have close enough to the primary's point?!" came Master Sinube's voice, coordinating from the Temple so the more able fighters could be in the field.

Atin cursed as the answer came in. She was possibly the closest, being part of the Senatorial protection, with backup from two knights and one master that she did not know.

"We're on that part, Master Sinube," said the very calm, very cultured voice that Atin had heard once from a recording. "Though we won't say 'no' to further assistance."

"Kenobi, and Skywalker, I take it? Thank the Force," Sinube said more loudly than intended.

"Our troops are assisting in capturing the Separatist flagship, but we, and our padawan, are nearly to the primary," Kenobi agreed.

Wait, her mother was going anywhere near that psychopathic piece of filth, younger than --

\-- Atin picked up her speed, and went to be on hand, even as a Captain was rallying troops to keep fighting, no matter what the Home Guard was doing.

* * *

When the smoke cleared, the 212th and 501st were in control of the Separatist flagship, with incriminating communications evidence. Grievous was dead at their hands, and Dooku was in custody of the masters sent after him. They had moved on the first intel of the invasion, though it left gaps on the front lines.

Nejaa was going to need a new arm, and Kit had lost a major tentacle, but they were alive.

On the planet, the anti-chip method had deterred most of the Home Guard from getting directly involved in the fight, but it also meant the droids had more of an effect before CorSec got fully involved in protecting the people. 

Palpatine, confronted by The Team, plus supporting Jedi and a rogue Force Sensitive, had not capitulated. As the men were coming back to their senses from the chip deactivation, they had seen the fight, with Palpatine using a pair of red lightsabers, and tried to aid the Jedi.

Ahsoka crumpling to the floor under a lightning attack had driven Anakin to a frenzy, and Obi-Wan had managed to meet his intensity to keep their teamwork at an all time high. Atin, having been guarding the men that came to help the fight, like Ahsoka had been doing when attacked, had seen lightsaber work beyond anything she had ever witnessed.

Palpatine did not survive the fight.

And now… now it was going to be time to pick up the pieces.

* * *

Somehow, the main culprits in maneuvering things wound up in Padmé Amidala's quarters. That was where Anakin needed to be, and where he was, his padawan and master were, so of course Kit and Atin had to be there to discuss things. Rex and Cody, with the latter on strict restrictions as he recovered from multiple rib fractures, had joined them at Anakin's invitation. 

Rex was still giving Cody grief for letting Grievous step on him, which made Atin smile, glad that her father would not lose his dearest brother now, among all the other salvations they had managed.

"Atin, what will you do now?"

Kit asked it in a lull of the conversation, mostly trading pieces of what each had done during that frantic final fight on three fronts.

"I have to speak with Master Tiin at length," she said. "Observations I should share with him, so he can be certain the Jedi most at risk get the help they need. He was surprisingly open to conversation while we were waiting for the healers to clear us both.

"But then, I don't know. The Force didn't swallow me up. I can go to Dathomir, and probably will eventually, but… maybe I'd like to see what peace looks like, before I go stomp on the way they treat their men there," she admitted.

"Peace is looking pretty hectic to me," Ahsoka said, even as she crinkled her nose at the commentary about Master Tiin. Kit, who knew the long standing issues there, found it hilarious that the daughter was getting along better than the mother with that Jedi.

"We could use the rather pointed reminders of how things were going wrong," Kit said, offering the invitation that Master Plo and others had encouraged him to reach out with. 

"I think that might get awkward, pretty fast," Atin said, lekku flicking briefly as her eyes darted once to Ahsoka.

Strangely, the younger of the Togruta (which still made Atin feel odd), looked at her dead on, and shook her head.

"I pieced it together. You're… somehow mine? And it doesn't have to be awkward. I just think we'll need to go for sisters, if that's okay with you. Because I'm not ever going to be whoever I grew up to be in your history."

Atin didn't need to look in her father's direction to know he had just taken a lot sharper notice of things, and how shocked he was.

"She was the hero the Rebels needed, and one of the best teachers I could ever hope for," Atin said softly. "But I am very glad you will not have to walk her road."

"I can say that's the truth, even without all the details," Anakin said, still luxuriating in not having to hide his relationship in this company.

"Stay with us, Atin?" Kit pressed. "Help us set the Order on a better path, from your outside perspective."

"If it means seeing more families actually in the open, and knowing that my uncles," Atin said, with a small smile at the pair of vod'e, "won't constantly be on edge about the Temple trying to shut down the bonds there--"

"Not happening," from Anakin vied with Obi-Wan's "not in my lifetime," and Ahsoka's growl.

"--then yes. I'll stay. I might even start using my real name, just to give all of you a different Skywalker to yell at."

"What? I missed this," Obi-Wan said, looking over at her, even as Anakin twisted his head on Padmé's lap to see her better.

"My parents named me for the man they both respected, before they knew, or in hopes they were wrong, about what had happened. My name is Kemir'tra," she told the ones that did not know, even as the Mando'a gave a solid pointer to what sentient species her father belonged to.

Now Ahsoka's lekku did a flicking motion, but Atin saw her control the impulse to look toward the captain sharing a couch with Cody. That was the most Atin would say to encourage her mother to pursue that relationship, in time, as Anakin looked vaguely embarrassed, and Obi-Wan shrewdly appraised her.

"No wonder you found so much trouble to fix. It comes with the name," he finally said, and that was too much for them all, as they dissolved into laughter.


End file.
